Denver’s deep rotation will be struggle for Spurs

The Spurs will be bracing for a challenge from a lot of potential rival players Saturday night when Denver visits.

The Nuggets might have the deepest rotation in the NBA this side of the Spurs. Denver coach George Karl joked earlier this week that he wished that games were 60 minutes long so he could play all his players.

Since their transformation last Feb. 22 with the Carmelo Anthony trade, the Nuggets are 24-9 in regular-season games. It makes for a challenge because of all the players they have capable of scoring.

“Even with Carmelo leaving, they still have a great group of talented guys,” Spurs guard Gary Neal said Saturday at the Spurs’ shootaround. “For them to win games isn’t out of the question. They have good players and they have good chemistry. Them winning is not something that I didn’t see.”

During those 33 games, nine different players have led the Nuggets in scoring.

“With Carmelo, there was a lot of isolation plays,” Neal said. “A lot of guys were just sitting around watching him. With the cast they have, Ty Lawson, (Arron) Afflalo, Rudy Fernandez and all of those guys are very active and capable of scoring the ball. It definitely makes it more difficult.”